Purpose

Nothing Due

“God will meet you where you’re at”
“Don’t worry, it will happen. God has a person for you”
“This too shall pass”
“God accepts you just how you are”

Sometimes the most inaccurate things are said with the best of intentions.

In a culture that thinks that the ultimate purpose of life is to avoid suffering, the Church has parlayed the wisdom of the world into spiritual adages that sound good, but are wobbly in their theological accuracy. We often act like God is there to make sure that we are doing o.k. and that His sole reason for existence is to ensure our continued happiness. The truth is that God doesn’t owe us anything so all the good that we are given is an act of His grace. To think that we are entitled to anything else is ridiculous.

In an article called “Don’t Waste Your Life“, John Piper states, “Our life is not our own. It belongs to God.” Whatever He chooses to place in that life is solely at His discretion. Our job is to use whatever He has given us, good and bad, for His glory. That will barely make a dent into what He’s due.

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Being Content

Manufactured Experiences

I’m not the biggest fan of Disneyland. I realize that this is anathema to many people, one of them who happens to be my sister, but alas, its true. Disneyland is highly over-rated. Maybe its great for children, but for adults I don’t understand the allure.

For a while, I didn’t know why I was apathetic to the Magic Kingdom, but I’ve recently realized the cause. When you are at Disneyland (or any Disney theme park), everything is a poor substitute for something real. Instead of climbing the Matterhorn, you ride around a caricature of it in a cart. Instead of visiting various cultures, you glide in a boat listening to an annoyingly persistent song. Every experience at Disneyland is a manufactured one – designed to create a reduced representation of something great. It’s called the place “where dreams come true”, but its not. Its where contrived versions of dreams are produced and where people settle for less than greatness in exchange for convenience. And the really weird thing is that when you are there, you really are in another world. You can spend an entire day in one of Disney’s parks and never venture into the community in which it resides. You were there, without ever making an appearance. This may or may not have been Walt’s original intention, but it is what’s come to be.

I fear that being content with manufactured experiences isn’t exclusive to Disney, We all settle for less – sometimes its cause of fear, other times its because of expense, sometimes its just laziness. God has given us a banquet and we opt for fast food. Instead, may we always experience the bountifulness of His blessings.

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